EARLY during lunch at Hentley Farm, as snacks are morphing into starters, a big black camp oven is brought to the table.

The lid is lifted to reveal four oysters on a thicket of rosemary stems. A jug of water is poured over the top and a thick fog rises from the cauldron, rolls down its sides and spreads over the table top in a fluffy white blanket.

Take a breath of the damp woodland aroma of the herb, then down an oyster anointed with a pure, meaty chicken juice that has mingled with its own briny juices. Perfect.

That’s the smoke you can see and smell. Then comes the smoke you can taste.

Cubes of pristine raw mulloway and poached mussels bounce about in a tidal pool of buttermilk that is deliciously, irresistibly smoky. Gosh it’s good – so good that spoonful after spoonful is sipped to take in the hints of lemon, dill, and store it all away for future reference. Throw in a scattering of crunchy puffed rice and it is one of the best things I’ve eaten in a while.

The drive to Hentley, part of a painstakingly restored cellar-door in the Barossa’s western ranges, has not been without its worries. Late last year we named it the state’s best restaurant in The Advertiser’s annual honours and returning so soon carries a degree of risk. Will it still measure up? How could it improve?

Having Amanda Vanstone along for the ride, part of our double-team series of reviews, adds to the trepidation. What if she hates it? By the end of the mulloway, however, her expression has shifted from surprise to wonder to deep contentment.

For my part, I am convinced that the cooking of Lachlan Colwill and his talented young team, none of them older than 27, is more convincing than ever.

On this day, in fact, Lachlan is away. Given Hentley’s Discovery menu has close to 20 courses, and a delivery style in which chefs are constantly at the table, pouring broth, napping meat with sauce, you might expect the pressure to show. The pair we see don’t miss a beat. The same goes for the quietly spoken waitress who looks after everything else.

So what else has changed here since last time? A couple of new artworks add a little colour to the stone-and-wood interior of the old stable. But more fundamental is the stronger connection developed in this latest menu to what is outside, in the vineyard, orchard and wider region.

The meal starts with sprigs of rocket from the garden that can’t have been picked more than an hour or so ago. The leaves are swiped through a loose mix of marscapone and soy.

Grapes are used in various forms, from a cleansing unfermented grenache juice, to a sweet jam covered in a rye “crumble”, to the finale of an irresistible warm orange and raisin madeleine.

Other highlights? A disc of ruby-fleshed yellowfin tuna finds unlikely allies in the even more luxurious mouthfeel of a liver parfait, the contrasting clean crunch of a curl of iceberg lettuce, a scattering of cured egg yolk, sunflower seeds and a dressing with just enough sharpness. Sounds weird, tastes remarkable.

A knee-tremblingly tender piece of ox tongue is taken somewhere very special by a smear of brussels sprout and blue cheese puree, and a dab in an apple and mustard sauce. It challenges the mulloway as the dish of the day. Even an excellent, full flavoured piece of pork loin sings beside a straightforward combination of fried eggplant and babaganoush in the same way that lamb loves parsnip.

What’s not to like? A carrot sorbet is too sweet and simple. The kangaroo carpaccio with zucchini and kohlrabi is brave but not quite there. Minor quibbles. Only a salmon roe with passionfruit really grates.

Owner Keith Hentschke is there having lunch. As he takes in what he has created, the team he has nurtured, he must be proud. Hentley is very good. And it’s getting better.

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